Angela Morris of Cumberland uses a stuffed animal and a milk bottle to encourage her baby, Jameson Brainerd, age 10 months, toward the finish line in the Diaper Derby on Sunday at the Yarmouth Clam Festival. Buy Photo

YARMOUTH, Maine — Turn your back on your baby and they’ll crawl away in a blink of an eye. Put them on a starting line and try to get them to crawl 10 yards to Mommy … well, that’s not so easy.

About 40 “Crawlers,” kids up to 12 months of age, were entered in this year’s Diaper Derby at the Yarmouth Clam Festival on Sunday.

In most races the dad would be at the start line, trying to point the baby toward mom, who was waiting at the finish line. The moms would wave and make noise, hoping to catch their kid’s attention.

In the preliminary heats some youngsters seemed intimidated by the cheering crowds and refused to race. But not Jameson Brainerd of Cumberland. The 10-month-old burst out of the start and made a beeline for mom, only to stop a couple feet from the finish to sit down and look back to see what all the fuss was about.

His mom, Angela Morris eventually got his attention by shaking car keys, a white stuffed animal and a milk bottle. Jameson crossed the finish line and later cruised, or crawled, to victory in the finals, earning a $50 gift certificate — and a lifetime of bragging rights.